Nikki Haley Net Worth: UN Ambassador Spent State Department's $52,700 On Curtains

Nikki Haley used $52,700 of State Department money to purchase “customized and mechanized” curtains for her luxury apartment, according to a report Thursday. The United Nations ambassador’s residence, in a new building on First Avenue, New York, has spectacular views and is a 6,000 square-foot full-floor penthouse.

According to the New York Times, the curtains cost $29,900, while the motors and hardware used to open and close the curtains automatically cost $22,801. The money was used at a time when the department was undergoing deep budget cuts and had frozen hiring under former secretary Rex Tillerson, the Times reported.

​A representative for Haley said plans to buy the curtains were made during the Obama administration and the installation took place from March to August of last year.

However, the paper stated the Trump administration had no input in the purchase decision, according to the representative.

Haley, who is the first UN ambassador to live in the building after a Chinese company purchased the Waldorf-Astoria, has a net worth of $1.6 million. Her apartment is listed for $58,000 a month.

Before becoming the UN ambassador, she served as the 116th Governor of South Carolina. According to a report, her salary as the governor was around $106,000. As an ambassador, she got around $179,600.

Some Obama-era officials were critical, questioning why such a purchase was made.

“How can you, on the one hand, tell diplomats that basic needs cannot be met and, on the other hand, spend more than $50,000 on a customized curtain system for the ambassador to the U.N.?” asked Brett Bruen, an Obama White House aide.

"When @nikkihaley's not busy rejecting the idea of universal human rights, she's busy spending $52,701 of US tax payer money on curtains for her residence. Milk the people, screw the world. Fine priorities you got there,” Andrew Stroehlein, Human Rights Watch’s European Media Director, wrote in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Patrick Kennedy, the top management official at the State Department during the Obama administration, defended the spending.

“All she’s got is a part-time maid, and the ability to open and close the curtains quickly is important,” Kennedy told the newspaper.